Ron Paul’s attempt to audit the
Federal Reserve, which was previously co-sponsored by 320 members of the House (
HR 1207), failed by a vote of 229-198. All Republicans voted in favor of the measure with 23 Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with Republicans. 122 co-sponsors of
HR 1207, all Democrats, jumped ship and voted against the measure.
The GOP had offered the Fed audit as the minority’s last chance to alter the financial regulation bill. The bill does have an watered-down audit provision in the conference report, but it is limited to loans made by the Fed during the height of the economic crisis.
Ron Paul’s bill would have allowed a total examination of the Fed’s
books.
As the House debates the financial regulatory reform bill, the Republicans will offer the thorough Paul-Grayson Audit language as part of their motion to recommit.
In support of this motion, Representative Paul has written an “Audit the Fed” post for the “America Speaking Out” website.
Check it out here and show your support by voting for the idea and leaving a comment.
You can find out more about the motion to recommit here.
GOPers To Push Fed Audit
House GOPers will make a push to audit the Federal Reserve in a last-ditch effort to stop financial regulatory reform legislation, leaning on a popular proposal from Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) to make their case.
The GOP will offer the Fed audit as a motion to recommit, the minority’s last chance to alter a bill before final passage. A motion to recommit is subject only to an up-or-down vote, not to debate or amendments.
The regulatory reform measure does have an audit provision in the conference report, but it is limited to loans made by the Fed during the height of the economic crisis. Paul’s bill would allow a total examination of the Fed’s books.
Paul’s legislation has 320 co-sponsors, including Dems as diverse as Reps. Jason Altmire (D-PA), a centrist, and Steve Cohen (D-TN), a liberal.
But it’s unlikely to pass as a motion to recommit, which would send the conference committee back to the drawing board for a third time. House and Senate Dems reached agreement Tuesday night on a revamped package after Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), 2 key GOPers who voted for the Senate version, said they could not vote for the first conference report. Negotiators ended up dropping a proposed $18B bank tax to help pay for the bill.
Call Congress and urge your representative to support Audit the Fed (especially if they’re a cosponsor) by voting for the motion to recommit on H.R. 4173. If final passage of the Dodd-Frank bill comes up for a vote, demand they oppose this latest government move to interfere in the economy.
Ron Paul says the monetary system is the cause of the crisis, and giving more power to the Fed doesn’t make sense since they are the cause of the crisis. The original language of
HR 1207, calling for a full audit of the Fed, was neutered but there is still a chance to revive the original intent. Without a full audit, we will never understand why bubbles form and why more regulations fail. The Fed audit that Paul is calling for does not challenge the supposed independence of the
Federal Reserve.
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